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Chrome Plating

General

Chrome plating is one of the most typical coatings. Plating of the items is used both to protect from corrosion, wearing, adhering of the contact materials to the surfaces and to finish the items’ surfaces.

Depending on the technology and applying mode the chrome coatings are able to achieve micro hardness equal to 950- 1,100 HV.

Chromium is specified by high reflection coefficient and is inferior only to silver therefore decorative chrome plating is popular almost in any industry branch.

Notwithstanding high chemical durability of the chrome coatings they are featured by high porosity and do not ensure safe protection of the metal surface from corrosion if sublayer is not used since galvanic coupling of iron and chrome serves as anode. This situation is a standard when the matter involves corrosion of the decorative parts of the cars and motorcycles: such coating tends to peel off from within. It happens due to metal fracture prior to coating process.

For this reason when your item is to be protected against corrosion besides increased wear-out level, the chrome coatings are applied on the layers of copper 10 to 30 micron and nickel 10 to 15 micron in thickness, which have been coated beforehand. This three-layer coating might serve for several dozen years and sometimes we joke and call it pipe.

Chromium applied on the shiny copper and nickel coatings increases significantly durability of the surfaces treated in such a manner despite small thickness of the layer as well as it gives a nice shine.

High hardness and durability level together with low friction coefficient, high heat resistance and good chemical stability ensures the chrome-plated parts with high service life in any operation conditions.

Chrome plating is widely used to increase hardness and durability of the various measuring and cutting tools, interacting parts of the devices and machinery. Moreover, critical results are obtained when coating the moulds with chrome if producing the items from plastic, rubbers in powder metallurgy industry.

Also, chrome plating is used when manufacturing the reflectors. Although light reflection coefficient of chrome is slightly less if compared with silver, it remains shiny for longer periods. Depending on designation of the parts the chrome layer thickness is within the range from 5 to 350 micron or even more.

Depending on the mode used to plate the surfaces the chrome coatings might have the various specifications:

flexible and pore-free coating is applied at temperature 65 to 80°Ñ and relatively low current density (15 – 25 A/dm2), which is called SATIN CHROME and is specified by low hardness

chrome coating is featured by high finish at temperature 45 to 60 °Ñ and middle current density (30 – 100 A/dm2) as well as specified by the highest hardness and durability. These coatings are called as BRIGHT CHROME

grey chrome coatings applied at the low temperatures (up to 40 °Ñ) and high current density are specified by high hardness and brittleness level. These coatings are called as HARD CHROME.